After The War
by PuttingQuillOnParchment
Summary: The Pevensie children's reunion with their parents.
1. Reassurance

The war was over. They had won. Both in Narnia and on earth.

So thought Edmund as he and his siblings journeyed through the quiet countryside to their home in Finchley. The scenery outside was so enchanting that Edmund couldn't keep his eyes away from it. Dark green trees grew here and there to become a captivating forest. A carpet of breathtakingly beautiful flowers lay on the ground: mayflowers and daisies, pansies and sunflowers, hollyhocks and petunias, all nodding their heads in the cool breeze. Some of Aslan's magic must have been here, for Edmund didn't remember ever encountering an area with such a wide variety of different species of flowers growing close together.

Sighing, Edmund tore his eyes away from the window and back to the compartment. He supposed he had a strange look on his face, for Peter asked,

"Is anything wrong, Ed?"

Edmund broke out of his reverie and looked at Peter. "No ... It's just that I'm just thinking about what we've left behind, and what is to come." Susan shot him a quizzical look, indicating her confusion as to what he was alluding to. Edmund continued, "What I mean is, we've left behind a whole new land of freedom and peace in Narnia. And, much as I want to go back home, I can't help but miss Narnia. It's a sort of - I don't know how to put it - "

"Nostalgic?" Susan suggested.

Edmund nodded quickly. "Exactly! It's a sort of nostalgic feeling."

Susan gave him a small, sad smile. "We all are experiencing that emotion."

"And yet," Edmund continued, "I'm delighted to be going back home." The others were listening very carefully, because it wasn't often that Edmund was so open about his feelings. "Except ..." His voice trailed off.

"Except what, Ed?" Lucy urged him, albeit gently.

"Except ... I don't know whether Father might make it home or not."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Susan and Lucy, both of whom looked away as tears filled their eyes. Peter, however, answered the question that his brother had left unspoken, hanging in the air.

"It'll be all right, Ed." Peter's voice grew somewhat shaky. "He'll be - he'll be alive." When Edmund didn't respond, the oldest Pevensie sibling relapsed into silence. The rest of the journey was rather quiet, except when the train reached the station with a loud whistling. Then a hustle and bustle ensued as everyone hurried to get their luggage and exit the train.

The Pevensies wore excited expressions on their faces. Because, at last, they were going home to their mother and (hopefully) father.


	2. Reunion

As the Pevensies rounded a corner, they were met by a welcoming sight. A pretty medium-sized house met their joyful eyes, with garlands of ivy hanging over the walls and pretty green shutters. The front door was a magnificent work of oak, with tendrils of wooden vines intertwined around it. It was hard to believe that, just a few weeks ago, this house was close to being bombed and destroyed by enemies.

"Finally," Susan breathed.

All four of them forgot to enter in a dignified way; clutching their bags and various bits of luggage, they dashed towards the front door in pure ecstasy. Before they could open the door, however, it was flung around by their mother. She stood, framed in the doorway, beaming. Her sweet, loving face looked like an angel's just then, as the quartet of children hovered around her, the way bees surround a flower. And all of them were talking, chattering away as if to make up for those few months of war. Mrs Pevensie had pure bliss etched on her face as she took in the sight of her children, matured by the war. (Although she would never have imagined that it was a Narnian battle that had changed them for the better, and not World War II.)

Peter had grown taller and stronger and seemed capable of handling just about anything. When Lucy ripped her skirt with a thorn in an attempt to pick some flowers up for their mother, it was he who rushed over to her and comforted her.

Susan had grown more responsible and no longer bore a tendency to giggle at silly things. Edmund was the one over who the war had the most impact: he had isolated his sulky expression and had stopped being inclined to tease Lucy for little things. His spiteful demeanor had vanished, to be replaced by a most kingly, warrior-like aura.

Lucy was still a young child, but something in her face showed even a casual observer that she was a force not to be reckoned with. Something had been released inside of her: a majestic royalty, although her mother did not know that.

"Oh, my dear ones," Mrs Pevensie murmured as all five of them trooped inside to feast on the dinner she had prepared. "How proud I am of you. And how pleased your father will be to see you after all this time."

* * *

The gushing family were chewing on scrumptious, juicy strips of beef, a luscious array of vegetables and a delicious carrot stew when they heard the front door being opened.

Seeing her children's hopeful faces and not wishing to let their hopes down, Mrs Pevensie hurriedly said, "Oh, I expect it's old Alfred. He drops in for dinner now and then."

Even so, all four children got up from their chairs after being excused and sped over to the front door. And who should it be, leaning against the doorway, a sling holding his arm, but -

"DAD!" Peter hugged his father hard.

"FATHER!" Susan, overcome by a fit of childishness, pranced around her father.

"DADDY!" Edmund, for once, no longer cared to appear grown-up and addressed his father by the name he had long since replaced by "Dad".

"DADDA!" Lucy did not even comprehend the fact that she had called her father what she used to call him when she was two.

And so the happy family moved to the living room, where they shared a few hours of family fun and joy.


End file.
